Rurouni Kenshin: The Day After the Storm
by drTomoe123
Summary: This is a story telling of events happing soon after Kenshin recieved his cross-shaped scar. As Kenshin begins killing again for the new future "they" dreamed of, he ends up helping another trying to enrich the future in his own way.
1. The Night That Began the Flame

**Rurouni Kenshin – Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story**

"**The Day After the Storm A Fight for the Future "**

Diary 1 – The Night That Began the Flame

_by drTomoe123_

The year is 1865. The place is Bakumatsu-era Japan. A young swordsman trained to be an assassin is slaying the enemies of the Ishinshishi, fighting for a bright future, the bright future of a new Japan. This swordsman, Kenshin Himura, has been through immense amounts of sorrow, which tie in with the cross-shaped scar on his right cheek. Now, with the end of the Bakumatsu coming as soon as the next dawn, Kenshin has vowed to never kill again once the war is over, but what about the war that still rages deep inside his heart? Still, could there still be even more pain for this killer? Pain that he will successfully throw back into the flow of time?

"Over here! Over here, Chojirou! Here is the Hitokiri Battousai!" screamed a man.

"Where, Myoji? I can't see him! It's much to dark! I can't see anything!" another man, Chojirou, screamed out.

There was silence. Chojirou ran around aimlessly in the dark, trying to find his partner, Myoji, while trying to stay away from the deadly Hitokiri Battousai.

A scream.

"Myoji! Are you still there? Myoji! Answer me!" cried out Chojirou as he ran towards the location where the scream came from.

He was stopped dead in his tracks as he ran into something that blocked his path. Chojirou looked down as the moon peeked out from behind the clouds. It was Myoji, or at least what was left of him. He had been killed, only the top half of his body remained.

"You are next," said a ghostly voice from the shadows.

"…Hitokiri…Battousai…" Chojirou shrieked.

The moon peeked out again and the pale light showed Chojirou his deepest fears. He saw a bright face, with a cross-shaped scar on his right cheek. Chojirou, scared out of his mind, unsheathed his sword, and ran towards the Battousai.

"Die," Battousai said swiftly.

There was silence again. Chojirou Hiwagaki and Myoji Ichigo, soldiers of the Tokugawa Shogunate, were dead. The Hitokiri Battousai, Himura Kenshin, looked to the now-dark sky.

"This is for the new future of Japan. I fight for this future with these blood stained hands," Kenshin said, and began to touch his right cheek, "I promise you both, this madness will stop soon."

Kenshin sheathed his sword and began to speak again.

"This sword, the sword propelled by the principles of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, has slain many lives, and I must live with this. Until the day that this war is over, I must use you to work towards that future that I…no…_we_…dreamt of," he sighed.

"Over here! It's a weakling!" screamed a voice in the distance.

Kenshin looked towards the direction the voice came from, and ran off into the darkness.

"Heh, who are you?" said a man, who looked to be a member of a rebel group.

"I don't want to die! I have a family! I have a son and a wife! Please don't kill me!" screamed a young man. He had a very pretty face, almost woman-like. He had short hair, and dark blue eyes. He was wearing very dirty clothes, much like they hadn't been washed in months, almost to the point of falling apart.

"Do you think I actually care about that? Killing you is like killing an insect. It doesn't matter. If I knew where your little "family" lived, I'd kill them too," laughed the rebel as he raised his sword.

"I'll give you anything! Just don't kill me! I want to live to raise my family! Please don't kill me! Please!" screamed the man.

"_HITEN MITSURUGI-RYU! RYUU KAN SEN!_"

The rebel's head flew off into the nearby field while the body fell motionlessly into a pool of its own blood.

"What the…?" gasped the man as he looked up, and saw the cross-shaped scar appear from the darkness. "Hitokiri Battousai! Please! Don't kill me!"

Kenshin looked down at the dead rebel, "Do not worry, I have no intention of killing you. I came here to protect you. Do not take it personally, but your situation reminded me of a similar one from when I was younger, I could not ignore your cries."

"The legendary Hitokiri Battousai has saved me from certain death, but…I still fear of being attacked by more rebels as I pass through this area on my way to find food for my family!" the man cried.

Kenshin thought for a moment. "After betraying the principles of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, I finally have a chance to use it for its most basic truth…"

"What is your name?" asked Kenshin.

"Oh, my name, oh, it is Keisha Seta."

"I shall protect you until you reach your family, and do not worry, my word is something you can trust," Kenshin replied.

Kenshin could tell that Keisha was hesitant. "Who in their right minds would actually want to travel with Japan's most ruthless killer? Still, Keisha is more interested in getting home to his family than anything else, so he will definitely trust me."

"…alright," Keisha finally said.

"Follow me, we must make one final stop before we continue on your journey," Kenshin commanded.

So, the two new companions began their journey. Keisha reluctantly begins to follow Kenshin as the moon starts to hide behind the clouds, and they both disappear into the night.

**Diary 1 : END –**

**End of Chapter Notes: **

Alright, this is really my first Rurouni Kenshin fan-fic. While I was writing this chapter, I was trying my best to keep the story in the RuroKen continuity while creating a stand-alone story that isn't too similar to the actual series. The main character Kenshin meets, Keisha, was just created from my idea of one of those "weak, but has inner strength, will protect his family from anything" kind of guys. Still, I had trouble trying to work around the whole continuity thing, but if I mess up, please bear with me. ;;

That's it for me for this chapter, please keep reading, leave reviews, and anything else you want to!

drTomoe123


	2. The Will to Fight

**Rurouni Kenshin – Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story**

"**The Day After the Storm A Fight for the Future "**

Diary 2 – The Will to Fight

_by drTomoe123_

After meeting with a poor man, Keisha Seta, who was about to be killed, the legendary Hitokiri Battousai, Kenshin Himura, has decided to take him under his wing. Now, Kenshin and Keisha make their way to a place where Kenshin must finish some business.

"So…umm…Himura Battousai…" muttered Keisha.

"You don't have to call me by that name. You may call me by Kenshin, I'd prefer to not be reminded that I am the Hitokiri Battousai," Kenshin said.

"Ah, yes! I'm very sorry, Kenshin!" said Keisha, startled.

"You don't need to worry, like I've said, I'm going to help you get home," replied Kenshin.

Keisha was silent for a moment, "I'm just wondering…if you don't mind, I mean…why is it that you don't want to be called by the name Hitokiri Battousai?"

"It's a long story, and I'd rather not repeat all of it ever again," replied Kenshin.

"I'm…I'm sorry."

"I will tell you one thing, though. I do not kill for the sake of killing, I kill for the future that this senseless killing will eventually bring along. I wish for the day where children do not have to go through the mindless pain that my generation has had to go through," Kenshin said, with a dreamy tone.

"I understand," said a timid Keisha, "I know exactly how you feel, that's the reason I want my son to grow up without being involved in battles. I'd rather him grow up a farmer or something so he doesn't have to kill, or be involved in it. I want him to help people in the future, I want him to help feed the future of Japan."

Kenshin stopped walking and turned around towards Keisha.

"Even though I am a killer and you are a simple countryman, it seems we had more in common than you originally thought."

Kenshin turned around and started walking again. The moon peered out from behind the clouds in the night sky and revealed a faint smile on both of their faces.

There was silence for the next hour or so, as the two travel towards a seemingly-unknown destination. Then, they reach a small hut hidden in a large grove of trees.

"We're here," Kenshin quietly said.

"I want you to stay out here, I won't take very long," Kenshin added.

Keisha nodded and stood outside the hut.

"My dearest wife and my cheerful son, I will return to you soon, I promise," Keisha whispered as he looked to the moon.

Kenshin walked inside the hut and a man was sitting in the corner, sleeping.

"Katsura, I just wanted to report to you, I killed fourteen swordsmen employed to the shogunate, and three members of the Shinsengumi's lower ranks," Kenshin reported.

The man slowly opened his eyes. The man was Kogoro Katsura, the heart of the Bakumatsu. He was the leader of the Ishinshishi, and the man who employed the services of Kenshin when he was younger.

"Was there any sign of Hajime Saitou or Soushi Okita?" Katsura asked.

"No."

"Ahh, that means it wasn't anything too important, but members of the Shinsengumi ARE members of the Shinsengumi. Kenshin, I'm sorry, but I hope this will all be over soon, so you can finally put your sword down and begin your vow of never killing again," Katsura laughed.

"It doesn't matter when as long as I don't die before the end."

"That's why we employed the new "assassin of the shadows". That reminds me, have you seen him?" Katsura asked.

"No."

"If you do, tell him I need to speak to him urgently, I must discuss some things with him," Katsura commanded.

"Alright, I'll be leaving now. I'll make sure to report to you again shortly, Kogoro," Kenshin said as he turned towards the exit.

"Kenshin, wait," Katsura yelled, "Thank you for doing this for me."

"I don't do it for the gratitude, Kogoro, but for the future of Japan," Kenshin replied.

As Kenshin said this, he walked out of the light-filled hut, and back into the darkness.

"Are you ready?" asked Kenshin.

"Yes," replied Keisha.

Kenshin began to explain, "We can go to your home now, I'm finished with my work."

Keisha pointed to the east, "My home is a few miles that way, we can be there by morning, I'm sure."

"All right, let's go."

The two companions began to travel to the east, unknowing of what was coming for them.

Around midnight, the clouds began to disappear from the sky, and the full moon was shining its light upon the earth. There was silence this entire time, until three men could be seen ahead of Kenshin and Keisha. Keisha was startled at the sight, and ran behind Kenshin.

"Heheh, two lovers out at night perhaps? It's past your bedtime, boys," laughed one of the men.

Kenshin stood back a little and whispered behind him to Keisha, "Do not worry, they're just simple bandits. If you don't want to see blood, turn away soon."

Another of the men began to speak, "What are you whispering to him? Trying to tell him that you love him before you die? How sweeet."

The third bandit, which seemed to be the leader of the group, walked to the front, "Now, which one of you wants to die first?"

Kenshin began to speak as he grabbed his sword, "I could ask you the very same question."

Kenshin suddenly disappeared. In less than a second, he reappeared around the third bandit.

"_HITEN MITSURUGI-RYU! SOU RYU SEN!_" screamed Kenshin as his sword flung from his sheath in a stunning show of Battoujutsu.

The bandit had no time to react as the sword cut right through his stomach, cutting straight through his spine, cutting the body into two halves.

Keisha watched as if this was magic.

The other bandits began to try to run away, but they couldn't escape the fangs of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, the legendary style that could kill a hundred men in one swing.

Kenshin leaped backwards into the air, "_HITEN MITSURUGI-RYU! RYU TSUI SEN!"_ he screamed as he landed in front of the second bandit.

It seemed quiet as he landed, but seconds later, the bandit's body was cut vertically down the middle. His inner organs began to spill onto the hard earth as Kenshin was sprayed by the violent gush of blood from this dead body.

Kenshin turned towards the final bandit and lifted his sword.

"The sword style of Hiten Mitsurugi has one basic truth. Use the sword of Mitsurugi to protect the dreams and lives of the people of the world. I shall slice through the evils of the world that try to oppress the weak and crush those dreams. In short, this sword is swung in the name of the people of this land."

The bandit fell to the ground, speechless, seemingly awaiting his own death. It was not suprising, because he saw the hellish personification of death standing before him: Hitokiri Battousai.

"_HITEN MITSURUGI-RYU! RYU KAN SEN – TSUMUJI!_" Kenshin screamed as the bandit instantly died, blood spraying everywhere.

Keisha was also speechless.

"This is the horror of death. The horror of the legendary Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu! This blade…it fights for people like me! How can it be that such a horrific thing can act as such a sweet saviour?" Keisha finally said.

"It is because, this sword fights for both the past and the future," Kenshin turned around towards Keisha and said as his sword began to shine in places because of the bright moon, at least the places not covered by blood.

Kenshin touched the scar on his cheek, "This sword fights to help dull the pain and repent for the deed that caused this scar. While, at the same time, fights to keep this type of pain from happening to anyone in the future."

The landscape was covered in remorse and sorrow. The bandits, with their bodies and blood strung across the ground. Keisha, with the sight of death in his mind. Finally Kenshin, with the dark memories that lie in his cross-shaped scar and deep inside his heart.

**Diary 2 : END **

**End of Chapter Notes: (includes spoilers for the actual RuroKen series inside)**

This chapter basically focused on developing post-Tomoe, pre-wanderer Kenshin. I try to give my ideas on why Kenshin still fights even after killing her. I added in Katsura basically because I couldn't think of any other revolutionary to stick in there. ;;

Keisha in the chapter finally experiences the scene of death through his own eyes, and it makes him try even harder to make his son live in a new era. Keisha also realizes that Kenshin isn't what he's been made out to be, and that he has numerous ideals behind his sword, including an ideal he holds very close to his own heart. Anyway, this entire story will be around 4 – 5 chapters long, just because I'm better at writing this way and I hate doing one-shots.

That's it for me for this chapter, please keep reading, leave reviews, and anything else you want to!

drTomoe123


	3. Living in a Dream

**Rurouni Kenshin – Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story**

"**The Day After the Storm A Fight for the Future "**

Diary 3 – Living in a Dream

_by drTomoe123_

The moon was still glowing in the eastern sky. Kenshin stood alone. A light mist could be seen coming out of Kenshin's mouth as he breathed into the cold, moist night air.

"Where's Keisha?" Kenshin asked, "Where is he? I can't find him."

Kenshin began to look around, trying to find any sign of life. There were dark trees and the sound of the occasional animal, but there were no visible signs of any humans.

Kenshin suddenly began to feel his heart beat faster and harder. A sick feeling started to fill his stomach as he began to get more and more nervous.

"Keisha! Where are you? We must return to your family!" Kenshin screamed out into the empty night.

As Kenshin screamed, he heard something fly behind him. It was faster than his own god-like speed. Suddenly, it began to speak to him.

"Kenshin, what are you doing here? Why are you still killing people?" the voice asked.

Kenshin, startled, turned around to see what was speaking. There was nothing. The environment had turned into an abyss. There was no sky, no ground. There was no up, there was no down. All was black.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Kenshin squeaked. He was getting very nervous. Some unknown force was scaring him.

"Aghhh!" Kenshin screamed in agony as he grabbed his cheek. His left cheek was burning.

Kenshin pulled his hand away from his cheek and looked down at his trembling hand. It was blood. Kenshin was terrified now, and wondered why his scar would be bleeding now, even after everything had been laid to rest.

Kenshin had no idea what was going on, and he turned around in circles aimlessly inside of the dark abyss. Numerous voices started speaking to him from every direction.

"Hitokiri Battousai. Why are you still slaying the lives of the present?" screamed one voice.

"Kenshin, have you forgotten about me?" moaned another.

"…my son, my wife…how could you let this happen to me?" another cried.

All three of the voices struck something inside of Kenshin. He turned around, and saw an image he hadn't seen in a long time. It was Kiyosato. He was covered in his own blood, with tears drenching his eyes. The gore around him began to disgust Kenshin. But why? He had a flower lying on his back, but the flower began to tremble on the back of the body. The body of Kiyosato began to walk again, and it started to walk directly towards Kenshin.

Kenshin was shaking uncontrollably from fear now.

"Didn't you have enough? Wasn't ruining everything I lived for good enough for you? Killing again, Battousai?" the corpse screamed into the empty darkness.

"I..I…get away!" Kenshin cried as he began to run in the opposite direction of Kiyosato.

As Kenshin ran, he couldn't breathe. Every time he tried, all that came out of his mouth was blood. Before he could get very far, he saw another body. This one hit Kenshin's heart much harder than the previous one. He was able to breathe again, but the scent he breathed in scared him more than the entire encounter with the last body. The smell was of white plum. The body was beautiful, and it was glowing.

"Kenshin, what about the thing you promised me? The vow never to kill again?" it asked.

"Tomo…Tomoe…It's you…" Kenshin stuttered.

Kenshin was reunited with his slain love, Tomoe Himura, but what he felt at this moment was not happiness or love, but fear. He began to question what was going on. He began to move his hand to his sword. Kenshin was about to break down.

"Kenshin, please, don't let it happen ever again…" Tomoe cried to him.

Tomoe began to lift her sweet, gentle hand and pointed towards something.

"Don't let it happen, my love…" Tomoe added as she disappeared.

"Tomoe? Tomoe! TOMOE!" Kenshin screamed as he recieved no answer.

A final voice called out to him.

"Do not worry about her! What about me? You promised me you'd protect me with your sword! You promised me I'd see my son and wife! YOU PROMISED ME!" it screamed.

Kenshin looked to his right side and saw the body of Keisha Seta. It had been cut in a way similar to the Ryu Tsui Sen's cut, but this…it was _colder._

Kenshin suddenly couldn't move or speak as the body moved closer and closer towards him. It reached out its hand and began to get closer and closer to Kenshin's face.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT ME THEN!" Keisha screamed as it grabbed Kenshin's face and started to crush his entire skull.

Kenshin's eyes suddenly sprung open and focused the late night sky. His eyes instantly grabbed on to the moon. He was sweating badly, and he was breathing as if he had just run a kilometer.

He began to look around at his surroundings. Trees, empty fields, a small brook, and finally Keisha, who looked pretty scared. Kenshin then realized that he had unsheathed his sword and almost attacked Keisha.

"That was really close! I've been trying to wake you up for the past few minutes! Were you dreaming about something, Kenshin?" Keisha asked, "It took me forever to find a bush that wasn't swarming with insects…heheh."

Kenshin realized it was all a dream. He slowly breathed a sigh of sweet relief. Keisha had just been gone for a few minutes so he could use the bathroom. He must of fallen asleep while he was waiting for him to return.

"Ahh, it was nothing. I just have not had a good night's sleep in a long time, that is all," Kenshin replied as he stood up and brushed off his arms.

"I was worried there for a second. I was worried I was going to end up like one of those bandits," Keisha added.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, it is just a warrior's reaction, you never know when you may be ambushed at night," Kenshin coldly said.

Kenshin felt as if he had spoken these words once in a conversation before.

"No problem, I guess, as long as I make it home soon. My son's face is really looking very good in my mind right now. I can't wait to see my family and tell them all that is happened. I won't tell my son, of course, he's too young to really understand, and I want to keep him clean like I said earlier."

"I'm interesting in meeting this family of yours when we get there," Kenshin slowly said, "That is, if they have the heart to meet a killer like me."

"Don't worry about that. You've protected me, and what you've said has made me see that you may really be able to start a new life after this war is over," Keisha complimented.

Kenshin was silent for a few seconds. He remembered everything that had happened over the past year or two. He remembered Tomoe, Katsura, Iizuka, and now Keisha Seta. He began to smile a bit and he turned around towards Keisha.

"_Thank you._"

The two of them began on their journey again. It was getting very late now, and both Kenshin and Keisha were hoping on reaching their destination very soon.

As they walked through the immense Japanese countryside, they encountered few living things. Keisha's love of cats caused them to stop for a few minutes so he could bandage a small wound that a small calico had had received somewhere. Kenshin just smiled and laughed.

During this entire part of the trip, Kenshin was amazed at how happy Keisha was. He was happy and he seemed to enjoy things. Kenshin was a bit…envious.

After the whole calico incident had passed, Keisha felt the air was getting very quiet between him and Kenshin, so he began to speak again.

"I know that when my son grows up, I'd like him to follow the same path you are following now," Keisha began to say.

Kenshin was very surprised by this, "You'd like him to kill in the name of a new era?"

"No, no, that isn't what I meant!" Keisha timidly laughed.

The moon was shining the brightest it had that night. The shadows of the trees in the area filled the ground like bottomless holes. Kenshin's red hair looked beautiful on this night, while Keisha's dark brown hair looked like the grainiest dirt due to the fact it hadn't been washed in days.

"What do you mean, then?" Kenshin asked as he kept walking.

"The way that you're moving on after such a violent past. The way that no matter how hard your past was, you keep fighting for the dreams that you believe in," Keisha replied, "I have no idea what happened to you, or what caused that cross-shaped scar, but I know I admire you for fighting to this day for the future of Japan…for the future of my son."

Kenshin realized something. Even while he had killed people, while he had slain the lives of many, he was saving people. He realized that by fighting for the future he'd save more lives than he'd kill.

Keisha suddenly screamed out, "There it is! There's my home!"

Kenshin looked ahead of him as his eyes adjusted. He was on top of a hill and below him there was a large piece of farmland with a small hut just a short distance away. Light was shining from inside and smoke was coming from the small hole in the top of the structure. Keisha began to run ahead of Kenshin.

"I'm home!"

**Diary 3: END**

**End of Chapter Notes:**

We're here at the third chapter of my four chapter series. After reading your reviews, I've realized how bad I am at being descriptive. So, to try to make up for it, I tried to go back in this chapter and try to describe things a bit more. If I can't get it right this time, I'll try to do my best in the final chapter. It was also pointed out that I put Kenshin's scar on his RIGHT cheek instead of his left cheek, and I fixed this in this version. I guess I'm just too used to seeing him from a head-on view. xD

The beginning of this chapter focused on Kenshin's mind and how it's still fragile from the Tomoe incident. Kenshin's fear right now is not being able to keep his promises. Kenshin is still wavering between the thought of whether or not his fighting is truly justified, but Keisha helps reassure him.

The next chapter is already turning out pretty hard. I found some plotholes that would open up if I went along with it the way I originally had it, so I had to work around it. I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter, the next chapter, and the whole story in general.

That's it for me for this chapter, please keep reading, leave reviews, and anything else you want to!

drTomoe123


	4. The Light Shining in the Rain

**Rurouni Kenshin – Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story**

"**The Day After the Storm A Fight for the Future "**

Diary 4 – The Light Shining in the Rain

_by drTomoe123_

Kenshin Himura and Keisha Seta have finally made it to their destination. Keisha can see his home through his own eyes. Kenshin can see Keisha's happiness in his actions. Now, with only feet to travel before Keisha makes it to his family, what will become of Kenshin?

"I'm home! I'm finally home!" Keisha yelled as he began to jump up and down.

Kenshin began to think to himself, "Seeing him this happy, I wonder if I could have ever been this happy with you, Tomoe. Having a son, you, and some seeds to plant…I guess I truly would be happy. Then, I must also consider the future of my son. I guess that each of us is here for a reason, and I am here to kill."

"Come on, Kenshin!" Keisha screamed as he began to run down the hill towards his home.

Kenshin looked to the moon again, entangled in his thoughts of Tomoe and the future that could have been, "I'll be there in a moment, Keisha."

Clouds were starting to gather.

Keisha looked at Kenshin and nodded.

Meanwhile, inside the small hut, a beautiful young woman and an old man were talking at a table, and a small boy who looked to be about four years old was sitting in a chair looking out of the window.

There were numerous candles around the entire area, giving the home a bright, sweet feel to it, even though it was a rundown hut. There were simple toys on the ground, and one of them happened to be a small doll that looked like Keisha.

"You know, Yamato, I am so grateful that you decided to come and watch over us until Keisha comes back home from his trip," the woman said to the man across the table.

"Don't worry about it, Ayaka, any work that needs to be done for my rice business can be done by my children, that's all they ever seem to care about these days," the man, Yamato, laughed.

"Mama! Where's daddy?" the little boy yelled with a concerned look on his face.

Ayaka looked over at her child.

"Oh Sou-chan, he'll be home any minute!" she laughed as she walked towards her son and patted him on the head.

Yamato glanced at Sou-chan then started to speak to Ayaka again.

"Ayaka, I just want you to know, if something ever does happen to you all, I'll be happy to take Sou-chan for you and take care of him. Even though I am reaching the end myself, I'm sure I could find someway that my son and other members of my family could look after him. Even though they are quite self-centered, I'm sure that bright smile of his could melt through their hearts," he laughed as he poured himself some tea into a little mug that Sou-chan made.

"I thank you very much for that, Yamato. I just hope that it doesn't end up coming to that. I hope for a great future for Sou-chan, Keisha, and I," she said as she walked over to Sou-chan and poured him a smaller dose of tea.

"Mama! Mama! I see daddy! I see daddy!" Sou-chan screamed as he began to jump up and down, just like his father did.

"Huh?" Ayaka asked as she turned around, "Where is he?"

Ayaka walked over to the window and picked Sou-chan up and looked outside. The moon was behind a cloud now, and she couldn't see anything.

Ayaka let out a sigh and turned around towards Sou-chan.

"Sou-chan, you must be getting sleepy! It's time for you to go to bed, honey," she laughed as she began to take Sou-chan to his bed.

"I saw him, though! I promise!" Sou-chan yelled as he struggled to get out of his mother's arms.

Yamato looked at him and laughed, "Don't worry boy, I'll wake you up as soon as your father gets home!"

Sou-chan smiled.

Outside, Kenshin was finally ready to catch up with Keisha. He began to look around for him, and then he saw the small hut and remembered that he had run down towards it.

"I need to get down there, I'm interested in meeting this family of his," Kenshin said as he released a small laugh, an uncommon sound ever since he had become a hitokiri.

"Keisha! Where are you?" he yelled as he expected Keisha's cheerful voice to call back to him with his family.

There was nothing. Only the cold, pale glow of the moon was with Kenshin. Keisha was nowhere to be seen.

"No, I must just be getting a bit nervous. Nothing could have happened to him this close to home!" Kenshin started to think to himself as his heartbeat began to start moving faster and faster.

Kenshin began to run down the hill that Keisha had also run down only minutes before. Sweat was dripping from Kenshin's face, and his hakama was very dirty from being covered in the blood from the various opponents crossed along the way here.

Kenshin didn't want to scare his family just incase Keisha was playing a joke, so he kept his voice quiet as he began to run down the hill.

"Keisha! Where did you run to?"

The sky started to rumble as thunder ripped the sky apart. Rain started to fall onto the farmland.

Kenshin's nose started to twitch as he smelled a familiar stench on this calm countryside.

"…no…it's…blood. Not dried blood either," Kenshin quietly said as the rain started brushing his face.

Then, out of nowhere, Kenshin looked into the rain ahead of him and saw Keisha.

"Keisha! There you are!" Kenshin began to stutter as he started stepping back slowly. It was raining even harder now.

A man was standing behind Keisha. The man had his hair pulled back and had cold, destructive eyes. He had a sword placed close to Keisha's neck, Keisha's arms and legs were tied up, and his mouth was covered up.

The man started to laugh and yelled, "The legendary Hitokiri Battousai, I hear from this man that you have lost the ecstasy that you get when you kill."

The rain was hitting Kenshin even harder. The wind was blowing and the thunder was roaring. Even if Kenshin screamed out, no one other than Keisha and this man could hear him.

Kenshin suddenly went into his battoujutsu stance and yelled out to the man, "I have no idea who you are, but I will not allow you to kill this man!"

The man's facial expression changed from a smirk to a genuine grin, "If you wish to save this man, you'll have to kill me first." The man then threw Keisha onto the ground and went into some weird stance. "If you wish to kill me, do it now, Battousai!"

Kenshin lunged towards the unknown man as he unsheathed his sword and tried to slash him horizontally. The man parried Kenshin's attack and sliced back. Kenshin started turning his body and hit the man with his sheath. Kenshin had used double-battoujutsu.

Kenshin jumped back as he was catching his breath. The unknown man was laughing, though some of it was muffled out by the rain.

"You're strong," Kenshin yelled out.

"I can see why they call you Hitokiri Battousai. You truly are a master of battoujutsu!" the unknown man yelled out as he pointed to his sword.

Kenshin took this time to think to himself for a moment, "I'll use the Ryu Tsui Sen to take him down in one shot. If I predict his movements correctly, he'll try to block me from the bottom, and hopefully I'll have enough strength to cut right through him."

The man could tell Kenshin was planning something and he began to scream out, "Hitokiri Battousai! What happened to this godly strength I heard of? What happened to this 'master of murder'?"

The man began to move to the side, nothing else but Kenshin and the man were able to be seen in the rain, and Kenshin thought, "Alright, it is time! I'll protect you Keisha!"

Kenshin jumped up into the night sky, with rain pounding down on his entire body. "In the name of this new future! In order to protect Keisha! I shall defeat you!" He began to fall back towards the ground with his sword held above him. The man lifted his sword to block.

"_RYU TSUI SEN!_" he screamed as gravity pulled him down towards the earth.

No one spoke. The only noise was from the thunder and the rain. Kenshin looked up.

"You missed me, Battousai," the man laughed. He had jumped out of the way before Kenshin struck. He was fast, that was for sure. "But, Battousai, you did strike something!" the man laughed.

Kenshin stood up. There was a rain of blood. Once again, Kenshin was being soaked in a rain of blood that he had caused. Unfortunately, this blood wasn't the unknown man's, nor was it Kenshin's.

Kenshin turned around and looked at what he had struck.

It was Keisha's.

Kenshin was frozen. The rain kept pounding relentlessly as the farmer's body was sliced into two parts. The man started walking away from the farmer's body and Kenshin.

"Hitokiri Battousai! I have taught you a lesson today! The lesson that nature teaches us all, that the strong are here to kill the weak! The strong should receive strength from killing the weak and I hope you learn from this that following this path is the only way for you to live!" screamed out the mysterious man as he walked away from the area. He was laughing. It was a crazy, maniacal, and _evil_ laugh.

Kenshin was still frozen. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move. He couldn't see anything anymore, but he could still see Keisha's body, along with the image of his smiling face.

"How could this happen? How could I do this again?" he began to say, his voice cracking. He began to pick up his hand and thrust it into his hair.

"This is the second time, the second time I've promised to protect someone, and ended up slaying them with my own hands," he began to say as he fell to his knees, his clothes becoming covered in mud.

"First it was you, my dearest Tomoe! I vowed to protect you because you were the one who I loved! Now I have betrayed Keisha's trust! After promising to protect him, I ended up killing him! Why couldn't I have died instead? I have nothing to live for, Keisha had his family, and he had his son!" Kenshin cried into the night.

Kenshin's body was breaking down as he thrust his face into the ground, his eyes becoming drenched with tears.

"No matter how hard I try, I can never keep my promise. Just because of my selfishness to remember Tomoe, I allowed you to travel into the night alone!" he screamed, but it was cancelled out by the roaring thunder and lightning.

Kenshin was able to move again as he swiftly moved his hand to his sword and unsheathed it, "Why don't I just end my life now? If I kill myself, I'll end up saving more people than I would if I lived! By dying I save the people of the world…"

As the rain poured, Kenshin began to thrust his sword into his own chest. A bolt of lightning struck the ground.

"Kenshin…stop…"

Right before the sword pierced his body, Kenshin heard this voice and looked ahead of him. The figure he saw was glowing, it was beautiful, and it reached out its hand towards his head and began to comfort him.

"Tomoe? Tomoe. Tomoe…" he sighed as he began to let the figure embrace him.

"Kenshin, you can't let it end here. This man does not blame you for what happened. You were trying to protect him. You both believed in the same thing, to fight for a bright new future. Just like you and I did. If you give up now, you'll be giving in," Tomoe gently said as she started to rub Kenshin's head.

Kenshin looked up at Tomoe.

"Tomoe…but wouldn't dying now just save more people?" Kenshin asked with a very whiny tone in his voice.

"Kenshin, by fighting for this new era, you are helping more people. Because you cut his life in two, you must now live your life with Keisha's goals in mind. The most you can do now is fight to make his dreams come true." Tomoe sternly reassured Kenshin.

Tomoe began to caress Kenshin's scar.

"Kenshin, live on, and do not forget that I'll always be here, watching over you. This is another memory that will be placed into this scar, but please do not look at it with sadness, look at it with hope," Tomoe smiled as she began to drift away from Kenshin.

Kenshin finally started to stand up and he saw Keisha's corpse. He spent the rest of the night burying Keisha's body, and carved a small haiku into the stone that he placed on Keisha's unnamed grave, near the entrance to the woods.

The rain began to subdue as Kenshin finally looked up towards the horizon. The sun was finally starting to rise from behind the horizon and the clouds.

"Tomoe, Keisha, thank you again," he said to himself as he began to disappear into the woods, but then he began to look back at the family that had been left behind.

"Keisha, although I was not able to protect you now, I vow that I will protect the new era that you were wishing for. By doing this, I hope to keep alive the wish that you had for your son," Kenshin sighed as he looked to the hut.

The sun started to cause the woods to glow orange. Kenshin had to cover his eyes because it was so bright.

"This is one in a series of hundreds of deaths that have occurred because of my own hands, but in the name of all of the lives I have slain, I shall build this new era. After this war is over, I shall spend my life repenting for these deeds, but until then, I shall never forget you, Keisha Seta, for one main reason," Kenshin added as he took a deep breath.

The sunlight was covering the land now, and you weren't able to tell that there was any storm whatsoever the night before. Kenshin was still looking at the hut, and then he began to run in the opposite direction.

"You taught me that no matter how bad the storm was the night before, the sun will always rise again, and I can begin my life anew. You taught me that I should put my past behind me, and keep fighting for that new future every one of us has dreamed of."

Kenshin disappeared into the woods that day, and he was never seen in this area again, but after a few weeks, Sou-chan found the grave that had no name and a single flower, and after finding his mother, he began to read the haiku that was carved into the stone.

"_The wise man helped save_

_A killer who lost his way_

_A family weeps"_

**Diary 4: END**

**End of Chapter Notes:**

This chapter felt awfully rushed, and I'm sorry about that. ;; This chapter went from four pages to five pages to seven pages. Heheh.

Any fan of Rurouni Kenshin should know who Sou-chan is, and I hoped my idea of how he ended up with "them" was good enough for you all. Heheh. I always thought it was interesting how in their fight, Soujiro brought up the fact "WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT ME BACK THEN?" Sure, Soujiro was just trying to sort things out in his mind, but I thought about how maybe they might have been connected closer than they originally thought.

The entire meeting with the "unknown man" was redone several times. The first draft had Keisha killed by the time Kenshin met the man. The second draft had Kenshin kill both the man and Keisha, but that felt too Tsuiokuhen-esque and the "unknown man" is supposed to be a character that meets Kenshin later on in the series. wink wink The final draft came out the way I wanted it to. The fight wasn't too long, and just one wrong move ended it all.

I sort of felt it was all resolved too quickly, but I really can't stand a very long resolution, so I guess Tomoe just has that kind of effect on Kenshin. Heheh. The fact that Kenshin buried Keisha was also added after thinking about the "improper" burials of Kasumi, Sakura, Akane, and Tomoe. Just once, I wanted Kenshin to be able to have a nice stone and flowers to place on the grave.

Anyway, this was my first Rurouni Kenshin fanfic, and I hoped I did not bore you all with my story and my "okay" ending. Heheh.

See you all soon.

drtomoe123


End file.
